Boudeuse Cay was named after a ship used in Bougainville's famous voyage round the world, from 1766 to 1769.

Boudeuse Cay is the farthest southwestern feature on Amirante Bank, and the westernmost island of the chain.

[2] The island has been identified as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports a breeding population of about 4000 pairs of masked boobies.

[3] In 2013, a small colony of brown boobies was discovered during a visit by scientists from Island Conservation Society.

Once a widespread breeding species in Seychelles, the brown booby was wiped out except for a small number surviving at Cosmoledo.